A problem arises in the use of downrigger fishing equipment of the type having separate reels for carrying a fishing line and a weighted-line, respectively, in that, when a fish strikes the lure at the end of the fishing line, the latter separates physically from the weighted-line; and the weighted-line must then be reeled in promptly while the fish is still on the fishing line in order to prevent the two lines from becoming tangled. Ideally, the reel for the weighted-line should be mounted and arranged so that the weighted-line can be reeled in as quickly as possible after the fish strikes the lure and the reel then swung or otherwise moved to an inoperative position where it is out of the way of both the fisherman and the fishing line. At the same time the mounting for the weighted-line reel must be readily accessible to the fisherman in both the operative and inoperative positions.
Another significant factor bearing on the practicality of the situation is that the portion of the apparatus carrying the weighted-line reel must not only be readily and quickly movable between operative and inoperative positions but it must also be capable of holding the fishing line and the weighted-line in essentially close proximity ot each other at a point near the reels but the mounting for the weighted-line reel must also be movable manually easily and quickly between the operative and the inoperative positions. At the same time, the mounting for the weighted-line reel must be relatively simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture if it is not to be priced out of the marketplace.